Produced by Yoshitake Tanaka, original producer of Country Musume. I've been reliably informed that pronouncing their name is something like "Been Chillin Show Nu Zu", which, I think you'll agree, is bad ass compared to just calling them Ice Cream Musume. Their official blog lies here: http://imusume.pixnet.net/blog
Shamelessly stolen from Stardust,
After the six girls were selected by Tsunku himself in September, over a month was spent with the girl's parents organising for their futures in the entertainment industry and in contractual talks. The girls also immediately began training and now that all affairs have been sorted can now travel to Japan for training and recording for their debut album.
Although the sun had not yet even risen, the spirits of the members were high on the morning of the 8th of November as the girls all arrived at the airport. The girls declared their excitement with many not being able to get to sleep the night before, in anticipation.
12 year old Gǔ Yún, the daughter of track athlete (decathlon) Gǔ Jin Shui, will be heading abroad for the first time by herself. Her father is not worried though, describing his daughter as independant and clever.
Céng Dé Píng expressed a desire to lay a firm foundation of Japanese pronunciation before tackling Japanese conversation while 14 year old, Qiu Cui Ling acknowledged that training will be tough, concerned that she may not be able to keep up with the other members. She maintained that she will try her very best to make the most of her Japanese trip.
Light Bulb had one of her classic moments at the airport after being told drinks and liquids were prohibited from being brought on the plane, extremely concerned she would be branded a terrorist for having to bring on cold medicine. Her tension was deemed cute and amusing to the staff and other members.
Elder members Zhōng An Qi and Wú Sī Xuán showed motherly spirit, caring for the younger members' whereabouts and emotions. The pair have also been strenuously practicing the lyrics of their Japanese songs together.
While the girls have very serious training ahead of them, their biggest concerns seemed to be excitement over visiting Tokyo Disneyland, revealing their childish, cute sides.
Their debut album is expected to be released before the new lunar year (Jan/Feb 09), though the article is scarce on details. More information, including a release date, will be revealed as the girls progress through their training. They are all hoping to have great results from the training, bringing glory as they represent Taiwan.
So who are our shiny new girls? Let's take a look (Please note that name romanization is debateable and you'll probably run into quite a few different versions of the same name while you wander the net):
ROLE CALL!!
The Girls
Vital Stats
- Nicknames: Xi Le, ShenShen
- 22 years old
- Born: 1988.1.10
- Blood Type: O
- Flavour: Blueberry
Trivia and Links
- Her blog is here.
- Her thread is here.
- Is the official group leader/team captain as the oldest member.
- Is a Capricorn.
- Hobbies include watching movies, writing songs, dancing, and not using her brain from time to time.
- Favourite foods include Seafood, doria, daifuku (a kind of mochi).
- Hates flus and stomach aches.
- Biggest fear is ants.
- Performing a Hula to "Juantanamera", then a dance to Holly Valance's "Kiss Kiss" here. (Her costume doesn't fall away like it's supposed to originally, but the judges give her another chance.)
- In another contest titled One Million Star ( a rough equivalent on American Idol, which I believe JunJun also took part in at some stage) she placed 24th.
- Performing a routine on contest One Million Star here
- Performing a routine on contest One Million Star here
- Performing a routine on contest One Million Star here
- Performing a routine on contest One Million Star here
Vital Stats
- Nicknames: Anchii
- 20 years old
- Born: 1989.7.23
- Blood Type: B
- Flavour: Coffee
Trivia and Links
- Is the official sub leader/ team captain as the second oldest member.
- Her blog is here.
- Her thread is here.
- After making it past the auditions and onto the live shows, An Qi was eliminated early, but was brought back for a special episode in which Tsunku allowed his favourite losers from the auditions and live shows to re-audition for the judges. However, she was eliminated during this episode once again, and instead was sent to a "last camp" of sorts, where she, along with Cui Ling, was eventually chosen to join the group as one of Tsunku's picks.
Vital Stats
- Nicknames: PeiPei
- 18 years old
- Born: 1991.2.10
- Blood Type: A
- Flavour: Vanilla
Trivia and Links
- Her blog is here.
- Her thread is here.
- Is an Aquarias.
- Hobbies include shopping, picture taking, watching cartoons, telling jokes, surfing the internet and reading.
- Favourite foods include milk, chocolate, gummy sweets and vegetables.
- Favourite artists are Takahashi Ai, BoA and SHE.
- Favourite colours are white, green and grey.
- Favourite cartoons include Crayon Shin Chan, Doraemon, Atashi n' Chi and Detective Conan.
- Favourite sports include baseball, dancing and volleyball.
- Favourite phrase is "Failure breeds success".
- Loves the character Stitch from Disney's Lilo & Stitch.
- Previous to the Final of NEW STAR being aired, she leaked Ame no Furanai by Morning Musume to fans.
- In her blog, she often refers to herself as the father in a family consisting of her, Lightbulb (Mother) and ReiRei (their child)
- Tsunku's comments on her: "Within Morning Musume there are some members whose dancing is their strong point and some whose dancing is their weak point, and it is because dancing is their weak point that their characters are built. Her face (expression?) is gaudy but her dance and performance gives off a childish feeling, and unexpectedly this unbalance is liked by the audience."
- Dancing to Sinatra's "Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night of the Week)" here.
Vital Stats
- Nicknames: Lightbulb, Youko
- 17 years old
- Born: 1992.8.28
- Blood Type: A
- Flavour: Strawberry
Trivia and Links
- Her blog is here.
- Her thread is here.
- Is a Virgo
- Hobbies include singing, chatting, sleeping and laughing.
- Favourite food is custard.
- Pet peeve is being alone at home.
- Is afraid of loneliness, being alone and house sitting.
- Tsunku's comments on her: Matsuura Aya songs are harder to sing than they look, and she got the melody and Japanese correct. He noted that she lost a lot of weight in 3 months and asked if she got in, if she would put back the weight she lost in a month and she said no. The host then suggested she should ask Tsunku what they will be eating in Japan. She wanted him to ask for her so they ended up doing rock-scissors-paper. She lost so she asked Tsunku what they eat for breakfast lunch dinner. Tsunku said breakfast is nattou, lunch is curry rice, dinner is nattou. The host asked if it's what Tsunku personally likes to eat, and he replied everyone in Morning Musume eats this too. Lightbulb said she'd be able to cope with the menu.
- Performing Aya Matsuura's "Your Song ~Seishun Sensei~" here.
- Performing a song on her own on New Star here.
- Performing Morning Musume's "I WISH" here.
- Performing a duet of Tanpopo's "Koi wo Shichaimsahita" with Su Lin Xin (A.K.A. Risa-Fan)here
- Performing a duet with another contestant on New Star here.
- Performing a duet with Ke Ming, another contestant on New Star here.
Vital Stats
- Nicknames: ReiRei
- 16 years old
- Born: 1994.1.16
- Blood Type: O
- Flavour: Choco-Mint
Trivia and Links
- Her blog is here.
- Her thread is here.
- After failing to pass the public auditions, Cui Ling was brought back for a special episode in which Tsunku allowed his favourite losers from the auditions and live shows to re-audition for the judges. However, she was eliminated during this episode once again, and instead was sent to a "last camp" of sorts, where she was eventually chosen, along with An Qi, to join the group as one of Tsunku's picks.
Vital Stats
- Nicknames: Guu-chan, Froggy
- 13 years old
- Born: 1996.12.14
- Blood Type: O
- Flavour: Mango
Trivia and Links
- Her blog is here.
- Her thread is here.
- Her father is a famous athlete.
- She believes she gets her hyperactivity and energy from her father.
- Became known to international fans as Froggy and Froggy Girl when she performed dressed like this.
- Dancing to the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" here.
Gallery Links
During The Show
Winning The Show
First Press Conference
The Show
For anyone that doesn't want to download all the episodes, or can't download the episodes, I found as many as I could. Some parts or full episodes may be missing, and I apologize for that. Unless noted otherwise beside the date, the entire episode should be there. The ones from Tudou come with less parts than the ones from YouTube.
Please let me know if any links are wrong, or stop working.
1: 08.06.07 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.06.08 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5/Final
2: 08.06.14 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.06.15 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6/Final
3: 08.06.21 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (Unable to find the rest of the episode.)
08.06.22 (Unable to find episode.)
4: 08.06.28 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
08.06.29 Part 1 Part 2/Final
5: 08.07.05 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.07.06 (Could only find the following performance: Part 1 Part 2)
6: 08.07.12 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.07.13 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5/Final
7: 08.07.19 (Unable to find episode.)
08.07.20 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6/Final
8: 08.07.26 (Unable to find episode.)
08.07.27 (Unable to find episode.)
9: 08.08.02 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.08.03 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5/Final
<Break Due To Olympics>
10: 08.08.30 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.08.31 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5/Final
11: 08.09.06 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.09.07 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5/Final
12: 08.09.13 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
08.09.14 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5/Final
13: 08.09.20 (Unable to find episode.)
08.09.21 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3/Final (END)
More info and such will be added as time goes by and it becomes available